James Thomson (10 September 1763 – 1832) was a Scottish weaver poet of Currie, near Edinburgh, whose poetry in the Scottish vernacular was published in Leith in the early 19th century. He is remembered by the Poet's Glen in Currie, a wooded dell with a scenic riverside path which is a right of way, and by a number of street names (Thomson Road, Thomson Drive, Thomson Crescent) in the east of Currie. Early life When James Thomson was born on 10 September 1763 in Edinburgh, his parents were too poor to bring him up and when he was four months old they sent him to be brought up by his mother's parents in the small village of Kenleith in the parish of Currie, where his grandfather was a weaver. The name Kenleith comes from Killeith, the chapel of the Water of Leith. The farm where Thomson lived lies higher up the Kinleith Burn to the south of Currie Kirk, and is now known as Mid Kinleith. When six years old, Thomson was sent to the parish school but after he caught smallpox his grandmother kept him at home and he was taught to read by his grandmother and an aunt. He was given the duty of herding, and each day took his grandfather's cow to the field with ballads or a book of songs in his pocket. He particularly liked the songs of Allan Ramsay, and learnt The Gentle Shepherd by heart. He was apprenticed as a weaver when 13 years old, learning from his grandfather so well that business which had suffered from his grandfather's failing eyesight soon picked up. Thomson also returned to school to learn to write, but his handwriting remained untidy. He was able to buy a fiddle and became a musician, entertaining his friends with music and with his poems. He married a young woman from the same village. His grandfather fell ill and died, and for a while Thomson and his wife lived in the parish of Colinton before returning to Kenleith. His weaving supported his family and his grandmother. Thomson and his wife had seven daughters and one son. They lived on Mid Kinleith farm in a small cottage which they named after Mount Parnassus. During the day he worked as a weaver, and in the evenings composed songs and poems, depicting local characters and places. He became known for useful skills, including